“Murray was the guy who spoke the least, but said the most.” Former councillor Bill Kelly.

I had the privilege last night of joining more than a thousand people to honour former Ancaster councillor Murray Ferguson at Michelangelo's. Two years ago Murray suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed and unable to effectively communicate. City hall has never been the same.

As numerous speakers noted last night, Murray had an ability to cut through the political bullshit to offer council a common sense solution to their problems. He was also a team player. Murray didn’t want amalgamation, but embraced the challenge to make the new city work. He had a passion for public service and truly cared about the future of Ancaster and Hamilton. Since his stroke Murray has repeated one sentence over and over: “Concern for city.”

When it was Murray’s turn at the podium last night, he encountered what seemed like an insurmountable set of stairs. Refusing to be lifted up, he fought for five minutes, slowly making his way to the stage. Like many in the room, I wiped tears as Murray made it to the microphone to say “thank you” before a standing ovation.

Thank you Murray for giving us all a lesson in candor, tenacity and integrity.

I had high hopes yesterday (as did Mayor Fred Eisenberger and finance chief Joe Rinaldo) that council would approve the 2008 budget…just in time for my vacation. No such luck unfortunately. Council voted to defer the approval for a few weeks to give staff time to get consultant reports on parking fees and a confidential human resources issue. Some also want more time to ponder the thorny issue of how council should divide up $4 million in slot revenue from Flamboro Downs.

Traditionally the majority of the money has stayed in Flamborough to help lower its taxes. Last year council also gave some of the cash to Ancaster to offset the cost of a new fire hall. If the money were shared across the city this year it would have a dramatic impact on Flamborough taxes – adding another 5 per cent on top of the annual increase.

No issue gets councillors riled up like area rating. Yesterday’s debate proved that. Councillor Terry Whitehead, who thinks the suburbs should share the wealth, had Flamborough Councillor Margaret McCarthy almost lunging in rage when he suggested the system was “archaic.” Eisenberger had to call her out of order several times when she interrupted Whitehead’s speech to dispute his points.
Eisenberger asked everyone to be respectful in the debate just as Councillor Lloyd Ferguson took the floor. He reminded Whitehead that Ancaster’s assessment has gone up 75 per cent since amalgamation, then took a shot at the Mountain councillor.
“My father used to say an empty wagon makes the most noise.”
When Scott Duvall asked finance staff to report back on the impact of taking the slot revenue away from Ancaster this year, Ferguson gave him a fake beating.

March 25, 2008

Should a mother be allowed to smoke in a car with her children? Should city council have a say? Council was split today when they debated endorsing the province's plan to ban smoking in cars. It passed by the slimmest of margins: seven to six. But council did agree to explore a ban on smoking in parks, playgrounds and on city beaches and higher licence fees to discourage tobacco sales and reduce the number of vendors near schools.
Where do you stand on the smoking debate? Should the city get involved?

March 21, 2008

How would you spend $8 million in Hamilton? City councillors got a chance on Thursday to list their top three priorities for spending extra capital funding in this year’s budget. A proportion of the funds — $3 million from the province — must be directed to brownfield redevelopment.

Councillor Bob Bratina's pitch to devote the brownfield cash to a community centre in Hamilton’s poorest neighbourhood, Beasley, generated several votes. There was also strong support for Councillor Chad Collins’ idea for a restaurant and skating rink on the waterfront.

March 16, 2008

The city is ready to declare war on the gypsy moth. A recent survey of trees in the suburbs found numerous pockets where the pests are ready to take over in the spring. The infestation is expected to be even worse this year than it was last spring. Experts worry mature trees will die this year because they are already weak from past summer droughts. (Read more about the problem here.) City staff are recommending council approve spending $450,000 to spray urban areas in Dundas, Ancaster and parts of west Hamilton in May to killed the bugs. The organic pesticide would be sprayed from helicopters early in the morning. For an extra cost, the city could also spray infected rural areas in Flamborough and Glanbrook.
Do you support mass spraying? If you've fought a battle with the gypsy moth, please share.

March 11, 2008

I'm away from the blog for a couple days folks. Today and tomorrow I'm talking to journalism students at different schools about breaking into the business. This morning I had to convince a class of college students that covering city hall isn't boring or scary...after two hours I think I converted at least half of them.
See you later in the week!

March 07, 2008

I realized this morning I missed Hall Mark's first birthday last month, gasp! This blog went 'live' on February 15, 2007 amid the Bernie Morelli licensing scandal. On the first day there were hundreds of hits and I'm proud to say the traffic has continued to be impressive. To date, this blog has had 132,500 page views and 2,500 comments. It's also well-read at city hall, which makes Hall Marks a valuable tool for public input on municipal issues. Thanks to everyone who reads and posts their comments, I appreciate it.

March 06, 2008

City manager Glen Peace shocked council yesterday when he announced he's leaving. He says he isn't going to another job, but just wants time to "relax, recharge my batteries and test the market." Peace, 57, will be done June 30, unless council decides to ask him to leave sooner. The city manager's office has been a revolving door since amalgamation. How do you think that will impact the city's search for a new top bureaucrat?

I talked to two of the city's former managers today and they had less than favourable things to say about working in Hamilton. Both said they wouldn't recommend it. On the other hand, former Burlington city manager Tim Dobbie told me he's already had two calls from outside candidates interested in the job and he told both to apply. There's also several internal candidates interested in the job and many people are betting it will be an internal hire.

Nicole Macintyre

Nicole MacIntyre is the queen of kings. A married mother of two boys, including the world's former worst sleeper, she's also a reporter and parenting columnist at the Hamilton Spectator. A devotee of the 'whatever works' approach to child-rearing, Nicole has learned to never say "I'll never" when it comes to parenting.